(a) Any person who knowingly advertises illegal telecommunications equipment is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Any person who possesses or uses illegal telecommunications equipment intending to avoid the payment of any lawful charge for telecommunications service or to facilitate other criminal conduct is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c) Any person found guilty of violating subdivision (b), who has previously been convicted of the same offense, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in state prison, a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or both.

(d) Any person who possesses illegal telecommunications equipment with intent to sell, transfer, or furnish or offer to sell, transfer, or furnish the equipment to another, intending to avoid the payment of any lawful charge for telecommunications service or to facilitate other criminal conduct is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by one year in a county jail or imprisonment in state prison or a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.

(e) Any person who possesses 10 or more items of illegal telecommunications equipment with intent to sell or offer to sell the equipment to another, intending to avoid payment of any lawful charge for telecommunications service or to facilitate other criminal conduct, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in state prison, a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or both.

(f) Any person who manufactures 10 or more items of illegal telecommunications equipment with intent to sell or offer to sell the equipment to another, intending to avoid the payment of any lawful charge for telecommunications service or to facilitate other criminal conduct is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in state prison or a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or both.

(g) For purposes of this section, “illegal telecommunications equipment” means equipment that operates to evade the lawful charges for any telecommunications service; surreptitiously intercept electronic serial numbers or mobile identification numbers; alter electronic serial numbers; circumvent efforts to confirm legitimate access to a telecommunications account; conceal from any telecommunications service provider or lawful authority the existence, place of origin, or destination of any telecommunication; or otherwise facilitate any other criminal conduct. “Illegal telecommunications equipment” includes, but is not limited to, any unauthorized electronic serial number or mobile identification number, whether incorporated into a wireless telephone or other device or otherwise. Items specified in this subdivision shall be considered illegal telecommunications equipment notwithstanding any statement or disclaimer that the items are intended for educational, instructional, or similar purposes.

(h) (1) In the event that a person violates the provisions of this section with the intent to avoid the payment of any lawful charge for telecommunications service to a telecommunications service provider, the court shall order the person to pay restitution to the telecommunications service provider in an amount that is the greater of the following:

(A) Five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(B) Three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the telecommunications service provider, plus reasonable attorney fees.

(2) It is not a necessary prerequisite to an order of restitution under this section that the telecommunications service provider has suffered, or be threatened with, actual damages.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 86, Sec. 225. (SB 1171) Effective January 1, 2017.)